Is Children’s Conceptual Development Weakening?

I’ve never been a fan of education that “teaches to the test.” Now, a new study from the UK supports the view that the relentless focus on preparing children for national exams has lessened their cognitive and conceptual development and ability to handle new ideas. In fact, they claim, 11- and 12-year-olds are “now on average between two and three years behind where they were 15 years ago,” in these regards.

This is worrisome news even for those of us in the U. S., especially in states like New York that require a slate of subject-matter exams for high-school graduation. It’s no secret that many high schools teach to these tests. There’s no easy solution on a broad scale, in my opinion. (Or if there is, it’s bound to be blocked by someone of a different political or philosophical persuasion.) The small-scale solution is for us as parents to make sure our children get exposed to concepts and hands-on experience above and beyond what they are taught in schools.